All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
With more technology being shoved into the dashboard of cars, drivers are being bombarded with information. So automakers and suppliers are trying to figure out the best way to manage this growing sensory overload so drivers don't become distracted, say, by their Facebook feeds on an in-dash display.
For its part, Garmin plans to employ some of the same display and interface technology it supplies to airplane pilots in cars. The company, which provides navigation systems to several automakers and recently unveiled its first complete in-dash infotainment system for Suzuki vehicles, first unveiled its "multi-controller concept" at CES 2012, and is now showing an updated version. The prototype interface is designed to reduce driver distraction while providing easier control over car infotainment systems such as audio, communications, navigation and smartphone apps.
It does this by placing the screen placed high in the dash so it’s more in the driver’s line of sight, combined with a rotary controller on the center console a la BMW iDrive, and with a touch pad similar to Audi’s latest MMI interface. There's nothing new about this layout, since several automakers offer screens that pop out of the top of the dash and a center-console controller. What is novel -- if not completely innovative -- is that the controller incorporates infrared for proximity sensing to detect the approach of a hand, and then reacts by displaying desired menu options before the driver touches it.
Since the multi-controller concept recognizes when a user isn’t reaching for the controller, most onscreen menu items are hidden to reduce clutter and distraction. That way, mission-critical information such as navigation directions or artist name/song title is highlighted at the top of the screen so drivers have only one bit of information to absorb at a time. And it's all very similar to what Cadillac is employing on its all-new CUE infotainment system.
Radio preset buttons positioned in the center stack below a disc slot also sport infrared sensors. Like traditional presets, these allow drivers to punch a button to get to a favorite station. But in this case, as a finger approaches, the preset information for each individual button pops up on the screen so that the driver can better target the right one. And the preset buttons can be programmed with a combination of AM, FM, satellite and even Pandora stations.
Four buttons with infrared sensors on the rotary controller allow switching between menus options such as audio, apps, communications and navigation. Garmin notes that climate controls, vehicle information and other functions can be tied into the controller. We think a Theremin-like audio-feedback feature to let a driver know how close their hand is to the controller would be a cool addition.
Bose tried a similar trick (sans Theremin sounds) with a retro two-knob stereo in the 2006 Ferrari Scaglietti. The right knob incorporates a proximity sensor that detects when a hand comes within 4 inches of it to anticipate that it's about to get twisted. As a hand approaches the knob with AM, FM or XM radio selected, current station information is enlarged on the head unit’s 6.5-inch screen. Radio stations coded with RDS format info allows icons such as a cowboy hat for country and a guitar for rock to be displayed so the driver can view the type of music available on adjacent frequencies. And when listening to a disc, the titles of the tracks before and after the one currently playing appear.
If you didn’t want to spend $150k or more on a used Scaglietti, you can get a JVC KD-AVX77 aftermarket head unit with a cheapo version of the technology for significantly less, since Garmin can’t say when we’ll see the multi-controller concept in production vehicles.
